1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hat stretching devices and more particularly to an improved hat stretching device having simplified and repeatable size adjustment capabilities for facile installation in and removal from a hat to be stretched.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Hat stretchers have been used for many years for maintaining hats in the proper shape during storage, drying, cleaning and the like. The most commonly used prior art hat stretchers include a pair of arcuate plates, or bands, having threaded rods extending therefrom with the rods being interconnected by a turnbuckle or similar structure. Manual rotation of the turnbuckle interacts with the threaded rods to move the arcuate band toward or away from each other to adjust the hat stretcher to the proper size for the hat to be stretched. Such prior art hat stretchers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 389,104, issued to G. E. Schellman on Sept. 4, 1888 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,347, issued to J. Navara on Aug. 5, 1969. This particular type of prior art hat stretcher is cumbersome to use in that it is difficult to hold the hat to be stretched, hold the hat stretcher in place within the hat and manually rotate the turnbuckle for sizing purposes all at the same time. Once this rather cumbersome installation and adjustment procedure is accomplished, is must be undone to remove the hat stretcher when the hat is to be used. Therefore, the cumbersome installation and size adjustment must be repeated each time the hat stretcher is to be used.
Other hat stretching devices have been used which are more properly described as hat expanders or hat blocking devices. Hat expanders of this second type are provided with four arcuate expander blocks which cooperatively define an oval configuration. A diametrically opposed pair of the expander blocks are interconnected by a turnbuckle type of adjustment structure and the other two blocks are connected to the diametrically opposed pair with suitable links and springs. Manual rotation of the turnbuckle causes all four of the expander blocks to move toward or away from each other. This type of hat expander is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,075,626 issued to H. Schlesinger on Mar. 30, 1937 and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,434,184 issued to C. F. Vlasis on Jan. 6, 1948. In addition to the increased complexity and costs of these second prior art hat expanders, in comparison to the hereinbefore discussed prior art hat stretchers, they have the same problem with regard to their being cumbersome to install and adjust, and such cumbersome installation and adjustment must be repeated each time they are to be used.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved hat stretcher device which overcomes some of the problems and shortcomings of the prior art.